Farzana Jabeen: The Unsung Pioneering Woman Mountaineer of Pakistan
GILGIT: Shimshal Valley, located in the Gojal sub-division of District Hunza is famous for producing towering mountaineers, like Rajab Ali, Samina Baig, Mehrban Shah, Rehmatullah Baig and Ali Musa, to name a few. While many of Shimshal’s mountaineers have gained international fame for their mountaineering prowess, a pioneering female mountaineer has remained unsung for long.
In 2006, at the age of 19, Farzana Jabeen had made history by becoming the first Pakistani woman to climb Minglik Sar, a 6,050 meters high mountain located in Shimshal Valley.
According to renowned mountaineer, Rehmat Ullah Baig, who is also Farzana Jabeen’s brother, she had achieved the feat on May 27 2006, when the media’s attention was not yet focused on Gilgit-Baltistan on social media was not that popular.
Clippings of reports published in national and regional press in the month of June 2006 also corroborate the story shared by Rehmatullah Baig.
It is pertinent to note that Rehmat Ullah Baig is one of the few Pakistani mountaineers to have climbed K2 and several other mountains above 8,000 meters of height.
In a Facebook post, Baig has asked his friends to share the story. He has hoped that the post will reach the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, who will recognize Farzana Jabeen as the pioneering woman mountaineer of the country.
